


It Was Well After The Patrol Had Ended

by taubir



Category: Destiny (Video Game)
Genre: Anxious Cayde, Awkward First Crush, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff, Selectively Mute Character, Swearing, dealing with FEELINGS, selective mutism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-02-01 20:21:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12712263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taubir/pseuds/taubir
Summary: Zora takes Cayde-6 up on his offer. Cayde-6 is awkward.An ongoing story about Cayde's crush on a Titan named Zora. Comments fuel this work forward!





	1. The Invitation

Cayde was feeling awkward.

Cayde was feeling very, very awkward.

So, his invitation had somehow gotten through to that Titan he’d recently become “ever so infatuated with,” according to Failsafe. Zora had indeed met with him on Nessus, but it was _well_ after the patrol had been completed.

All his other Hunters had gone off to do their own business by that point. They’d invited him to come along of course, but for some reason, Cayde-6 had stayed behind, making up excuses to stick around the Tangle a little longer just so he could angrily kill some Fallen that had gotten in his way and reminisce over the stupidly obvious attempt at flirting with a mute Guardian.

He was actually looting a Captain’s corpse, in fact, when she arrived.

Humming to a stuttering halt, Zora jumped off her sleek-looking Sparrow only to find Cayde crouching on a tree limb, leaning over a glowing loot trunk. He totally did _not_ expect her to come up behind him like that, with his ass waving in the air and arms overflowing with glimmer. When her ghost rather unhelpfully cleared his throat to announce their presence, Cayde jumped so hard that his foot slipped on some weird, red, tree moss (that had just so _happened_ to be beneath his foot), and everything in his arms went flying as gravity seized hold of him and his world turned upside-down.

“ _OW_!” He yelped, as a strong yank on his arm stopped all movement. Blinking open his eyes--which he had not remembered closing in the first place--revealed a slightly swimming world with a ground still surprisingly several meters below. Turning his head to find out what had arrested his fall, it was shown to him as none other than the polished silver surface of a very particular Titan’s helmet.

His heart jumped into his throat, and he could feel his pupils constrict.

 _Zora_ , he thought.

And then, _shit, ZORA_.

As he did in the case of all situations he had little to no control of, Cayde cracked a joke.

“Saving me twice already. At least let me take you to dinner first!”

Ghost, peeking cautiously over Zora’s shoulder, snorted in contempt. “We could just drop you, you know,” he said.

Cayde wriggled in Zora’s one-armed grasp. “N-no! No, that’s quite alright. Y’know, I don’t mind being rescued over and over again by the same strong Guardian on the same moon every now and then.” Shit. That came out dumb, too. But thank God Zora and Ghost were of the patient type, because despite Ghost performing the equivalent of an eye-roll with his dials, Zora began hoisting Cayde-6 hand over hand back up.

Once he was back on his feet, Cayde busied himself with dusting his jacket off. “Thanks for that.”

Zora shrugged and nodded. _No big deal_ , she seemed to say. Inside, Cayde beamed.

“You guys are kinda late for the patrol,” the exo went on, crossing his arms once he couldn’t find any more bark scraps to fuss with as an excuse to not have to make eye contact. “And by late I mean it’s already over.”

“Sorry,” said Ghost, crackling and chirping in between sentences. “We were busy destroying some Walkers on Titan. And killing some Wizards in a Hive ritual. And rescuing some citizens from Fallen outside the City wall. And--”

“I _got_ it, lightbulb, yeesh. He always boast this much?” He joked.

That last comment was sort of directed at Zora, but he didn’t want to make it seem like he was excluding her ghost. He was a kind of concerned with the idea of somehow offending the Titan by not including her translator and Guardian-exclusive companion in their conversations.

Thankfully, however, Zora kinda raised her arms and tilted her head to one side, as if to say _Pretty much. But what can ya do_?

Cayde-6 was so proud. He felt like he was really starting to get to know her.

In the slight awkward moment that followed his comment (and Zora’s cooperative response--score!), gunshots ricocheted down the canyon walls. Leaning back in order to see over Zora’s shoulder, Cayde could see Fallen and Vex engaging in a small turf struggle just down the road. Turning back to the duo, he said, “The patrol we went on wasn’t very exciting, to be honest. But I got some free time left before I have to head back to the City. Wanna go kill some things?”

Zora and her ghost exchanged a look, leaving Cayde on the edge for a millionth of a second. And then Zora stuck out her arm like she was offering to shake his hand, and Cayde eagerly clapped his own in hers.

“Alright, then!” He whooped, eyes lighting up behind their lenses. “Let’s go kill Some Things!”

 

~

 

Cayde hadn’t gotten his Sparrow fixed yet. It was still in the repair shop. “It’s fine,” Ghost had promised him. “We can just walk there.” But Cayde had feared that the fighting would already be over before they ever made it, thus eliminating any chance for some good, old-fashioned, bloody bonding time.

“No time,” he’d said. “I’ll just hop on yours.”

Zora, flexible as ever, simply shrugged and mounted her vehicle, which thunked to the ground when Cayde clambered on after her. To compensate for the added weight, the Sparrow put forth its most maximum processing power, which, because it wasn’t made for such extraneous effort, produced an embarrassing, high-pitched keening noise that only increased as Cayde-6 shifted his weight.

“Erm,” he said, but then clamped his mouth shut. _No_. No owning up to something dumb you did. Cool Kid Rule Number One: always make _everything_ you do seem planned.

Sliding his arms around Zora’s middle (and trying not to noticeably cringe when he felt her stiffen), he announced, “I mean, uh, let’s go!”

 

~

 

The ride there was far shorter than it would have been if they’d walked there. But to Cayde-6, it felt like eons.

The exo wasn’t stupid. He could tell when Zora was uncomfortable with something. Have you ever heard the phrase, “silence speaks volumes?” Yeah, well, that applied to Zora as well. Probably too much, even.

Body language was even more universal than guns, and Cayde felt like he could hear her every thought. When he’d wrapped his arms around her earlier, he’d felt her body tense underneath him. Zora fought body-on-body combat with aliens daily, and yet somehow she was uncomfortable with his touch? Of course. Just his luck to fall for a lone wolf Guardian. But Cayde hadn’t drawn his arms away. Ohhh, no. How could he? _Cool Kid Rule Number One_. He must never break it.

It really got under his skin how much bothering her bothered _him_. Cayde’s whole _persona_ revolved around not caring about what other people thought. He was cool, and funny, and nonchalant, and dashing, and heroic, and handsome...er, the point was, he was never nervous! Heroes simply didn’t _get_ nervous. However, here he was, chewing his goddamn fingernails off over a touchy little Titan on the paradox centaur of Nessus.

 _Sigh_ , he thought.

This was going to be a very long date.

…….Day. He’d said day, a long _day_ . Not date. Where had the narrator even _gotten_ the word date? The idea that something like this strange little hunting excursion could be _fathomed_ as something such as a date was a profoundly preposterous idea.

...Yet Cayde couldn’t deny the small little thrill that ran through his body thinking of the one-on-one action they were going to be spending with each other today. Just the two of them! Surrounded by things that wanted to kill them! Who could think of a better, more exhilarating day out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anybody want a continuation of this? ;3c
> 
> EDIT: Okay, confession time: comments fuel me. You comment, you can almost be guaranteed a continuation usually (or at least a decent effort!) of whatever it is ur commenting for. I love y'all sm!! Ta for now :D


	2. The Strong, Silent Type

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cayde tries to Impress Zora. He ends up being a hopeless romantic instead.

So. Things were going pretty good.

They’d managed to make it to the fight on time. Turned out to be a spat between some Fallen and the Vex they’d spooked out of dormancy.

An enormous servitor hovered menacingly over a large puddle, soaking up any and all ether it could find, while swarms of Dregs and Vandals scuttled about beneath, defending it. On the other side were Vex, Harpies, Hobgoblins, and Minotaurs alike.

Cayde had to admit: the sight was somewhat odd. Usually, the Vex didn’t care _who_ was messing up their planet, as long as they weren’t getting in the way of any important work. Of course, all Guardians were an immediate target to the Vex, so as soon as Cayde and Zora pulled up alongside them they all began firing at them, forcing them to seek cover immediately.

“Damn!” spat Cayde after his ghost revived him from a particularly deadly shot from a Minotaur’s blast cannon. “I know we’re not welcome, but sheesh. We just got here! At least let us introduce ourselves!”

“Looks like the Fallen interfered with a conflux the Vex were guarding,” Ghost reported from Zora’s shoulder, analyzing the scene from the rock the three of them were huddled behind. “I don’t see any reinforcements for the Vex yet, but that doesn’t mean they won’t arrive.”

“Guessin’ we should clean out the Fallen before the Vex get any angrier then?”

Ghost nodded, but Zora paused briefly in her reloading to look at Cayde, like that one little observation had caught her attention. Underneath the eyeless gaze of the silent Titan, Cayde felt his fans run faster.

Was that a smile? Was she smiling at him?

 _Why, oh_ why _did it have to be the strong, silent type_ , Cayde thought to himself, unable to stop a thrill running through his body despite himself.

Suddenly, a Vex materialized behind them, and before Cayde even thought to think, Zora’s fist had flashed out and the Goblin disintegrated into Light-energy before Cayde’s very eyes. The Hunter blinked, and then blinked again. Before him now lay a smoking pile of electronic dust, and beside him Zora continued loading up her rocket launcher as if nothing had happened.

Ghost re-appeared once the imminent danger was gone, and merely looked at Cayde like, _Y_ _eah. That just happened_ , all smug-like.

Smartass.

 _Well, I’ll be damned if I’m just gonna let her show me up like that_ , Cayde thought as the pair simultaneously dove out from their temporary shelter and plunged themselves into the fray. Like! C’mon, Cayde! You’re the best Hunter in the whole City. Show her what you’re made of!

Needless to say, a few minutes and a whole lot of screaming Fallen later, Cayde-6 and Zora stood panting victoriously atop a heaping pile of both Vex and Fallen corpses. The Fallen had abandoned their ether expedition, and, for the time being, the Vex were busy rallying more forces to defend their precious conflux, giving Cayde and Zora a chance to breathe.

Cayde let out a delirious giggle. “That,” he gasped, with his hands on his knees, “was insane.”

Zora, also bent over with chest heaving, seemed to agree.

“Guys, Vex reinforcements on their way,” Ghost warned, zipping between the two. Zora playfully pushed Ghost away, like she didn’t care what he had to say; whatever was on its way right now, it could wait. At the sight, Cayde’s stomach flipped somersaults.

“Ghost’s right,” Cayde said after a beat, straightening up like his metallic lungs weren’t still burning for oxygen. “There’ll be Hydras on us in seconds.”

“I mean, it’s not like we can’t take them,” Ghost piped up, and from the way he said it, hovering just behind Zora’s shoulder as she turned to face him, made it seem like she was the one who had spoken. Was that a challenge?

 _Uh_. Cayde gulped.

“Uhh, well — yeah! Yeah, you’re right. I mean, sure, let’s take them on. Let’s take them all on! That last fight wasn’t even that hard, man.”

Ghost did the equivalent of a frown. “But we should probably be getting back.”

“Uhh, obviously, yeah. Don’t wanna make Zavala worry about his favorite Guardian not coming home, now do we? Shame on you, Ghost, for even suggesting we stay.”

While Ghost let out an exasperated sigh, Zora jumped off the mound of bodies. Once on the ground, she turned around and offered up her hand.

 _For me_ , Cayde thought, feeling his heart skip a beat.

Carefully, as if it were made of glass, the Exo took Zora’s hand. Her grasp wasn’t squeezing or suffocating like he expected most Titan’s hands to be like. Instead, the grip was gentle, but firm. She stayed still and helped provide a steady support while he clambered clumsily off the pile of detached Dreg arms and severed Vex heads. Once he reached the ground, Cayde dropped her hand quickly, afraid of holding on too long. But Zora seemed oblivious to his discomfort.

In the quiet moment that that small, strange act of decency had created, Cayde murmured, “Hey, thanks. For that.” He fumbled about with his hands, gesturing to the bodies behind him. “For the fight, I mean. Yeah, I totally meant the fight. Gotta love me some dying Hobgoblin shrieks.” He scuffed the tip of his boot into the red, gritty dirt. “That was...fun. We should do this again sometime, yeah? Doesn’t have to be Nessus. I mean, just whenever you’re free. If you’d like. Cause I’d love to see you in combat again.” He snickered despite himself. “Y’know, no wonder Zavala likes you so much. You’re almost as good as me.”

“Har, har,” said Ghost sarcastically, but his tone was light. “Today was fun, I’ll admit. We’ll see you around, Cayde.”

Zora took one last look at Cayde-6, and, after a moment, clapped a hand on his shoulder twice. She then summoned her sparrow and rocketed off away, leaving Cayde in the dirty red dust of Nessus.

For once in his history of shitty jokes at even shittier times, the Exo was speechless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY I'm so happy I got out another chapter of these two. It's not the best, and there is going to be another chapter to dredge through to help set up some plot, and then finally, FINALLY, we can get to the good stuff! (And by that I mean a bumbling, stumbling fool of a Cayde 'cause I can't write any fan fiction that isn't ooc because I enjoy terrorizing the characters too much.)
> 
> I've already written the next chapter, which involves Failsafe (whom I LOVE with ALL MY HEART). The next chapter I have planned is written from Zora's point of view, which I'm hoping you all like. I know I sure like her "inner voice!"
> 
> Please let me know what you think! My stories run on your comments, as they tell me what you liked and what I can strive for next. Thank you so much for reading! :-)


	3. Thanks, Failsafe. And, uh, Failsafe.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cayde-6 receives some of Failsafe's advice. Failsafe is her usual bipolar self.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY
> 
> Not just for you guys, but for myself, too. THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD SERIES. You’ll be pleased to know I’m picking it back up again. If not for at least two new chapters, well, I’m giving you this one.
> 
> Please enjoy.
> 
> P.S. Can you tell I love Failsafe?

“I think you are in love with this human!”

“Oh, God, Failsafe, I’m in  _ love _ with her!”

Okay, first of all,  _ no _ . Those words did  _ not _ just come out of his mouth. And they especially did not come out of his mouth while talking to Failsafe. Seriously,  _ Failsafe _ ?!

“Lady, what am I even doing talking to you?”

Cayde was in the most stable remains of the Exodus Black, where Failsafe’s mainframe still stood, even after all these centuries. He was sitting in the corner of the room, nervously sheathing and unsheathing his Hunter’s blade, while Failsafe kept him company in his godforsaken romantic folly. Oh, and company did she keep.

“Dearest, Cayde. You know I don’t have emotions. But I will try to simulate them as best I can for you!  _ Despite not caring about your personal life in the slightest bit _ .”

Cayde squinted over at her featureless black face. “Thanks Failsafe. And, uh, Failsafe.”

“I think you should tell this woman how you really feel!” The AI went on. “Perhaps it might finally get you up again!  _ And out of my ship _ .”

“What, are you kidding me? I don’t know the first thing about this Titan. I’m definitely not gonna go marching up to her proclaiming my love for her all of a sudden. Besides,” and here he got quieter, rubbing his arm self-consciously. “What would a girl like her be doing with a guy like me?” When Failsafe did not respond, he elaborated. “I mean!  _ Why _ me? I’m charming, I’ll give ya that, and I won’t deny that I’m great with a pistol. But when it comes to... _ stuff _ like this, then, y’know…”

Failsafe pondered this confession. “I do not understand the meaning of the stressed word  _ stuff _ . Please explain!”

Frustrated, Cayde clicked his knife back into its sheath for the final time. “ _ Love _ stuff! Ugh, you wouldn’t understand,” he grumbled, looking away.

The thing was, Cayde wasn’t even sure  _ he _ understood. What was it about Zora that had him so helplessly head over heels for her? Was it her strong arm? Her stoic disposition? Or was it the fact that making Zora laugh made Cayde feel like he was the most special person in the entire universe to be able to do that, to be able to make Zora...feel something. And that he was the cause of it.

...Not that he assumed she couldn’t feel or anything. But as he systematically went through his feelings, trying to pin them all down and scrutinize them under a metaphorical microscope, all he found this to be was a guilty truth; Cayde-6 liked making Zora feel things. He was ashamed of himself.  _ I mean, of  _ course _ Zora has feelings _ , he thought. She was a human person! He was sure any other charming old chap in a Hunter’s hood on the Centaur of Nessus could make her laugh with a single joke. That didn’t make him special to her in any way.

But for some reason, he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to be special to her again.

“It’s hopeless,” Cayde groaned, and buried his head in his knees. Okay, sure, he was being 100% disgusting and totally not heroic and swagger-y right now. But he had nothing left. Facing the possibility that an almost complete total stranger didn’t like him back seemed too impossible for him to handle at the moment.

“Hope is not measurable by practical degree!” That was Failsafe. Cayde had forgotten she was there. “Therefore, it is impossible to say you have any amount of it. Or none of it!”

“Oh?” Cayde was tired of this already. He justed wanted to go home.

He stood up to leave.

“Yes!” She went on. “I have never encountered another sort of being that I could even remotely describe as being likeable, save for my wonderful crew and Captain. So it is very hard for me to relate!” Suddenly, her tone downshifted in that unfortunately familiar way. “ _ But you wanna know the one thing I’ve learned from being stuck stranded on a planet for hundreds of years alone, all by myself _ ?” Cayde paused in the doorway.

Honesty hour from Failsafe? Not something he was often allowed to experience.

He turned around carefully, eyes open. “What?” He whispered.

Her aura changed from surly red to a cheery yellow. “It is to never, ever, ever, ever, ever give up! Oh, and to hold onto the people you have. Because people are  _ very _ susceptible to dying. It’s quite funny, actually! How easily people can die! Would you like to know how many different kinds of ways humans can die?”

But Cayde was already up and out the door, a grin on his face and his heart pumping in his chest. Maybe Failsafe was right, maybe it wasn’t too late to give up.

He needed to find Zora again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments: the more things you tell me you like about this, the more I’ll include them for next time ;D
> 
> And also shameless self promoting, if you like this then tell your friends, spread the good news. Anxious Cayde is BACK, BABY!
> 
> Next chapter: Zora's POV. Featuring a special guest star, everyone's favorite Warlock ;-)


End file.
